The present invention is directed to the field of medical transport. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a medical support tray which receives a medical backboard eliminating the need to move a patient from backboard, to Gurney to x-ray table to MRI table in order to complete diagnosis.
Under the current practice, patients who have been injured, are positioned on a backboard and secured thereto using blocks and tape to immobilize the head; the patient is then transported by ambulance to a hospital. Once there, in order to avoid ulcerations of the skin caused by contact with the rigid backboard, the patient is taken off the backboard and placed on a “Bradford frame”, a padded metal frame used to stabilize a patient with pelvic or spinal injuries prior to surgery. Further, if the patient needs x-ray or MRI scans, the metal Bradford frame is inappropriate necessitating one or more additional transfers. It will be appreciated that these moves between support surfaces, prior to fully appreciating the extent of a patient's injury, may well exacerbate her/his injuries in an environment designed to heal, not hurt, the patient. In fact, studies have shown that up to 25% of the post traumatic injuries result from this movement, injuries which can result in paraplegia, quadriplegia, and, in the most extreme cases, death.
It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a tray which can receive a backboard, both the backboard and tray being radiologically transparent eliminating the need to jostle the patient between support surfaces until after the injury has been completely diagnosed. Once extent of the injury is fully known, proper care can be taken to avoid causing additional injury. The backboard is equipped with a plurality of gel pads positioned in three key regions: shoulders, pelvis and heels, to reduce the contact pressure to below 26 mm of Mercury, the pressure which causes venous stasis, or “pressure sores”. Further, the medical grade gel selected for this application not only reduces the pressure to a level below venous stasis, it advantageously increases the warming of the soft tissues contacted which enhances blood flow and further reduces the risk of the formation of pressure sores. In addition, the tray has a pair of wings which readily attach to the edges of the primary tray surface to expand the available support for “wide body” patients.
The present invention is directed to a medical support surface upon which a patient will lie for an extended period of time during transport from a trauma site in the medical emergency vehicle, through initial diagnosis and treatment until the patient is ready for her/his recovery bed, the medical support surface including: a) a radiologically transparent rigid backboard defining an area capable of supporting a patient, the backboard having a first pair of lateral edges; b) pressure relief pads attached to the rigid backboard, the pressure relief pads including i) four-way stretch urethane fabric forming an enclosure; ii) medical grade gel within the enclosure; the pressure relief pads reducing a contact pressure between the backboard and a contacted portion of the patient's body to a pressure below that which causes venous stasis whereby the patient may remain on the rigid backboard for the extended period necessary for transport and treatment without causing skin ulcerations; c) a radiologically transparent support tray having a recessed region for receiving the backboard upon which the patient lies. The medical support surface preferably also includes a set of wings attachable to lateral edges of the support tray to expand the area of the support surface beyond the first pair of lateral edges of the backboard. This attachment is effected using attachment means, the attachment means including a plurality of upwardly extending hooks and a plurality of downwardly extending hooks which cooperate to attach to rails extending along each of the second pair of lateral edges. In addition, a plurality of tangs on the wings are received in a plurality of recesses in the support tray to maintain the wings in a fixed longitudinal position relative thereto. The support surface includes a pair of foam comfort pads attached to the second pair of lateral edges of the support tray, the comfort pads being removable to permit attachment of the wings when the wings are needed.
Applicant wishes to thank the Mayo Clinic for its assistance in testing the prototype devices and providing additional assistance in the product development phase of this invention.
Various other features, advantages, and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent after a reading of the following detailed description.